Every legislative session brings renewed efforts to grant greater practice privileges to allied health providers. Allowing non-physician health practitioners to expand their scope of practice through legislation rather than through education and training is not good public policy for improving access to quality care. A well-run clinical team requires successful coordination among physicians and other healthcare professionals.

Elimination of the sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula in 2015 was a giant leap forward for
Medicare reform. The law paves the way for important payment reforms – including the
Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) that is under development and is intended to
streamline the various reporting programs for physicians. Shaping the MIPS so that it fixes the
problems of the current system and is beneficial for both physicians and patients is now at the
heart of Medicare reform efforts.